The following description of the background of the invention is provided to aid in understanding the invention, but is not admitted to describe or constitute prior art to the invention.
It is well known that long term storage of consumer goods and products having appealing aromas, odors, etc. (e.g., dry foodstuffs) derived from or otherwise containing organic matter is hampered by the potential contaminating growth of microorganisms, loss of flavor, and/or decomposition resulting from oxidation over time, and the potential for the development of toxins, generally, over the useful shelf life of the product. Most manufacturers of such consumer goods compensate for this “spoilage” by adding chemical preservatives to the product. However, it is well known in the art that chemical preservatives sacrifice the quality, taste, and overall integrity of many goods, including foodstuff products. Those products that do not contain chemical preservatives, however, have a short shelf-life and are thus limited with regard to long-term use.
One largely successful approach to solving this problem has been the use of airtight, flexible, rigid, or semi-rigid packaging containers or vessels that contain a one-way degassing valve to allow the unidirectional outward flow of gases, including but not limited to oxygen, nitrogen, methane, and carbon dioxide, from the container. Most one-way degassing valves, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,994, were originally designed to preferentially exclude long chain organic molecules, those considered “aromatic” gases (i.e., gases that contain volatile compounds responsible for providing aromas that can appeal to consumers (including prospective consumers (i.e., shoppers)), from exiting the container by way of the degassing valve.
While efficient at preservation, that approach is limited with respect to effective consumer marketing because consumers (including prospective buyers or consumers (i.e., shoppers)) are not able to sample the product by way of smelling the product's ingredient(s) or aroma(s) prior to making a purchasing decision. Thus, there is a bona fide need for packaging containers and non-chemical preservation methods that can preferentially prevent outgassing from a container of long chain product-derived aromatic gases on one hand but be induced to exhale aromatic gases upon physical stimulation or the application of pressure (e.g., by a customer's squeezing of the container), such that aroma(s) emanating from the product packaged in the container may be sampled on demand by a consumer without compromising the integrity of the vessel, immediately reducing the risk of purchase (or if previously purchased, subsequent use) for the consumer. Such compositions and methods would be highly useful, but not limited to, the packaging and strategic marketing of consumer goods or products that have enticing and/or pleasant aromas, such as breadcrumbs and breadcrumb-based products, spices, and other dry, packaged food products the aroma(s) of which are an appealing and salient feature that may be exploited for enhanced marketing purposes.